Talks aim to lift child health services use

The Institute for Child Health Research says it is conducting a study tour around Western Australia in an attempt to improve child health services for parents.

The institute says the number of people using the services in WA is in decline.

It is holding discussion groups with parents of young children to identify the barriers preventing them from accessing the services.

Institute senior researcher Tracy Reibel says the information will be used to improve the delivery of the service.

"So this is the beginning of the process and we would anticipate that changes would certainly begin to be made throughout 2013," she said.

She says the early stages of a child's development are critical to their long-term wellbeing.

"We've noticed a decline in the use of child health services and particularly these key child development checks," she said.

"These are particularly crucial times, the developmental checks, but also for parents to be able to discuss with child health nurses their own child and where they feel their child is and perhaps what things they feel they should be considering."

A discussion will be held at the East Goldfields YMCA in Kalgoorlie-Boulder today.

Moscow's words and actions — including the alleged poisoning of a former spy — are not the results of random aggression but rather fall into distinct patterns that can help us anticipate Russia's next moves under Vladimir Putin.